At approximately 10:15am on February 9, 2014, the Bridgeport Fire Department was dispatched to 880 Hancock Avenue for a reported vacant house on fire. Companies reported seeing it as they were responding from Bridgeport Fire Headquarters and first-in units confirmed that with a report of heavy fire showing from the 2nd and 3rd floors of a vacant 3-story wood. The fire had already progressed to where it was communicating to the exposures on the B and D sides, and members had to help an elderly woman out of one of the exposure buildings. The fire melted siding on the exposures, but was stopped before fire could damage the inside of any of the adjacent homes. One firefighter sustained minor injuries after slipping out of Tower Ladder 5’s bucket into a nearby tree. He was quickly secured by close-by members and the mayday was cancelled. The fire is being investigated for arson after a dog from the State Fire Marshal’s Office sniffed out an accelerant at the scene.
On Friday, the Twin Lakes Fire Department, Randall Fire Department, Town of Wheatland Fire Department and Richmond Fire Departments responded to a house fire in the 1500 block of Skinner Drive in Twin Lakes. They found heavy fire from the rear of the home on arrival. A MABAS box alarm requested which brought engines from Wheatland and Randall, a tender from the Town of Salem Fire/Rescue and Spring Grove (IL).